by Anand Gopal
underground school of
US forces and
as a widow
Hekmatyar, Gulbuddin
Helmand Province
Herakit-i-Inqilabi
Herat
heroin
Hinduism
Hindu Kush
Hizb-i-Islami
honor culture
Host Nation Trucking
Hotak, Musa
IED Alley
India
informants
infrastructure
Taliban
international aid
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Iran
refugees in
Taliban in
Iraq War
as distraction from stabilization efforts in Afghanistan
Ishan
Ishaqzais
Islam
jihad, see jihad
law
radical
sharia
Islamabad
Islamism
US-backed mujahedeen insurgency
Ismail Khan
Israel
Istaliff
Izzat, Mullah
Jabbar
Jacobabad
Jalalabad
Jalil, Mullah Abdul
Jamiat-e-Islami
Jan, Baba
Jan, Malem
jihad
al-Qaeda and
civil war
martyrdom
9/11 attacks
Julian, Greg
Kabul
civil war
fall of
mujahedeen rule
of 1970s
post-Taliban
refugees returning to
Taliban
Kabul River
Kabul University
Kafka, Franz, “In the Penal Colony”
Kakar, Muhammad Hassan
Kandahar
civil war
fall of
Kandahar Airfield (KAF)
Kandahar–Tirin Kot road
Karachi
Karimzais
Karzai, Abdul Ahad
Karzai, Ahmed Wali
Karzai, Hamid
background of
becomes president
first presidential election (2004)
government of
second presidential election (2009)
Taliban surrender and
Tirin Kot battle and Taliban defeat
US and
Khairkhwa, Khairullah
khans
Khas Uruzgan
female vocational training center
first presidential elections (2004)
political killings
Taliban insurgency in
US raids on
Khyber, Mir Akbar
Koran
Korengal Valley
US operations in
Kuchi, Naim
Kuchis
Kunar Province
Laghman Province
Lal, Muhammad
Lal, Sabar
Lala Khan
Lashkar Gah
Latif, Hajji
Latif, Mufti Abdul
Logar Province
loya jirga
Maiwand
raids
Taliban massacre
US war in
Malalai
Manan, Mullah
Mangal, Gulab
Mansour, Aziz
Mansur, Akhtar Muhammad
Mansur, Saif ur-Rahman
marriage
arranged
bride-price
second wife
martyrdom
cult of
Marx, Karl
Massoud, Ahmad Shah
Matin, Abdul
Matiullah Khan
McChrystal, Stanley
McNabb, Duncan J.
Mecca
pilgrims
media
medical care
midwifery
Ministry of the Interior
Miram Shah
Mohaqeq, Muhammad
Mohebullah
Mohmand, Pir
Mojumdar, Aunohita
Moscow
Mossad
Muhammad, Ghulam
Muhammad, Hajji
Muhammad, Jan (JMK)
civil war and
as governor of Uruzgan
murder of
released from prison
US operations in Tirin Kot overseen by
Muhammad, Pai
Muhammad, Shah
Muhammad, Sher
Muhammad, Syed
Mujahed, Abdullah
mujahedeen
civil war
factions
religious law and
US-backed
Mujahedeen Union
Mullah, Hajji
Musharraf, Pervez
Muslim Brotherhood
Musqinyar
dispute with police
first presidential elections (2004) and
murder of
Mutassim, Agha Jan
Mutawakkil, Mullah
Mutmain, Abdul Hai
Nabi, Ghulam
Nabi, Muhammad
Nafeh, Abdul
Naim, Commander
Naqibullah
Nasim, Muhammad
Nasir, Jamal
Nasro, Hajji
National Islamic Front
NATO troops
Navy SEALs
New Garloch
New York
9/11 attacks
New York Times
New Zealand
NGOs
9/11 attacks
Noor, Khoday
Noorzais
Northern Alliance
emergence of
Taliban vs.
US and
nursing
Obaidullah, Hajji
Obaidullah, Mullah
Obama, Barack
Afghanistan policy
Omar, Mullah Muhammad
surrender
Omaryar, Abdul Karim
Operation Anaconda
opium
Pakistan
-Afghanistan rivalries
colonialism
intelligence
refugees in
Taliban in
Paktika
Panjshir Valley
Parre, Commander
Parwan
Pashtoon, Khalid
Pashtuns. See also specific tribes
Pech
Persia
Peshawar
photography
Taliban use of
pilgrims
police
corruption
Musqinyar’s dispute with
“new” force
Popal, Rashid
Popalzais
poppies
American program to eradicate
cultivation
pornography
presidential elections
first (2004)
second (2009)
private security companies
property rights
Pryor, Anthony
purdah
Qader, Abdul
Qadir, Abdul
Qadir, Commander
Qadir, Hajji
Qaher, Mullah
Qale Nasro
Qassim, Mullah
Qudus, Abdul
Qudus Khan
murder of
Quetta
Quetta Shura
Rabbani, Burhanuddin
Ramadan
rape
Rauf, Malek
Razak, Abdul
Razaq, Mullah Abdul
refugees
civil war
in Iran
in Pakistan
return to Kabul
Rehmatullah
religious law
roads
checkpoints
Kandahar-Tirin Kot
See also infrastructure; roadside bombs
roadsi
de bombs
Roper, A. J.
Ruhollah, Uncle
Rumsfeld, Donald
Safavid Empire
Samoud Khan
Sangesar
Saudi Arabia
Sayyaf, Abdul Rasul
Schefter, Karla
Schiewek, Eckart
Semple, Michael
senate elections
Shah, Muhammad
Shah-i-Kot Valley
Sharafuddin
sharia
Shaysta
Sherzai, Gul Agha
intelligence network
Shias
Shiraz
Sidiqullah
Sirat, Abdul Sattar
“southern alliance”
Soviet Union
collapse of
Soviet war in Afghanistan
Swat Khan
Sudan
suicide bombings
suzerainty
Tajikistan
Taliban
Afghans mistaken for, by U.S. forces
bin Laden and
collapse of
emergence of
government
in Guantanamo
life of members after collapse of
mullahs
Northern Alliance vs.
Omar leadership
origins of
in Pakistan
Palace Guard
prisons
purity and virtue enforcement measures
recruiting
reemergence of, see Taliban insurgency
rule
sharia and
surrenders
Tirin Kot battle and defeat
US war and
women oppressed by
in Zurmat
Taliban insurgency
abductions
beheadings
in Chak District
district governors
funds
future of
in Garloch
governing activities
growth of
internal rivalries
ISI and
Maiwand massacre
protests against
recruiting
roadside bombings
suicide bombers
in Tirin Kot
US war and
in Uruzgan
weapons
Tangi valley
Tanzania
Tehran
Tirin Kot
battle and Taliban defeat
election workers in
Taliban insurgency in
US forces in
Tofan, Zulmay
Toomer, Perry
Tora Bora Mountains
Tor Khan, Hajji
torture
of Afghans by U.S.
Guantanamo
Touri
tribal society
elders
feuding clans
Ghilzai
hierarchy
honor culture
law
Maiwand
origins of Taliban and
property rights
US relations and
See also specific tribes
Turabi, Mullah
United Nations
disarmament program
United Nations Assistance Mission
United States
Afghan civil war and
failure in Afghanistan
invasion of Afghanistan (2001)
Iraq War
Karzai government and
mujahedeen backed by
9/11 attacks
patronage and construction projects in Afghanistan
torture of Afghans
war in Afghanistan, see Afghanistan War
war on terror
withdrawal from Afghanistan
US Special Operations Forces
Afghans mistaken for Taliban by
in Chak District
civilian casualties and
in Garloch
in Korengal Valley
in Maiwand
Operation Anaconda
in Tirin Kot
withdrawal from Afghanistan
in Zurmat
universities
Uruzgan
first presidential elections (2004)
political killings
provincial council elections
second presidential elections (2009)
Taliban insurgency in
Tirin Kot battle and Taliban defeat
US operations in
Uzbekistan
villages
informants
mountain clan life
police disputes
tribal society, see tribal society
See also specific villages
voting
first presidential elections (2004)
proof of
registration
second presidential elections (2009)
Wahabis
Wahid, Abdul
Wakil, Rohullah
Wali, Ahmed
Wali, Amir Sayed
Wardak Province
US forces in
war in Afghanistan. See Afghanistan war (2001–present); civil war (1992–96); Soviet war in Afghanistan
warlordism. See also mujahedeen
war on terror
water torture
Waziristan
weapons
CIA-backed mujahedeen
Taliban
UN disarmament program
Wodin, Hajji
women
civil war and
domestic abuse
education
in government
honor culture
of 1970s
pilgrims
post-Taliban
property rights
rape
segregation of
single
suicide
Taliban oppression of
US war and
urban
World Health Organization
Yonts, Jim
Yoshimoto, Alex
Yunis, Tawildar
Zabit
Zabul
Zadran, Pacha Khan
Zahir, Commander
Zaman, Hajji
Zarin, Malik
Zurmat
US operations in
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe my deepest gratitude to the countless Afghans I have met over the years who provided me, a complete stranger, a glimpse into their anguishes and their desires. In particular, I am profoundly lucky to have found Heela, Akbar Gul, and Jan Muhammad, gifted storytellers in their own right, who spent hundreds of hours with me retracing their steps, poring over maps, and finding old friends for me to interview.
In many ways, this book was a partnership between me and Zubair Babakarkhel, a talented Afghan journalist. I met Zubair when he was reporting for Pajhwok Afghan News, and was immediately won over by his unique combination of reporting chops, intelligence, and generosity. In our year of collaboration, Zubair dug deep, traveled far and wide, and taught me much about Afghanistan. He regularly made connections that I’d missed, and knew just how to guide interview subjects through delicate topics.
While living in Afghanistan, I was fortunate to have made Afghan friends who took me into their homes and guided me through their country. Hamid Asir traveled with me across the countryside on motorcycle, giving me a glimpse of an Afghanistan foreigners rarely get to see. Habib Zahori was a colleague who quickly became one of my dearest friends in Kabul. M.S.S. embodies the best of the country’s vaunted hospitality. I am also indebted to Frotan Ghausuddin, Gul Kaka, Dr. Nasir Malikzai, Haroun Mir, Edris Nawin, Waliullah Rahmani, Habib Khan Totakhel, Dr. Roshanak Wardak, Shahir and Melek Zahine, and many others who, for security reasons or otherwise, I cannot name here.
In the expatriate community, I am grateful to those who assisted me over the years, particularly when I first landed in Kabul without contacts or reporting experien
ce. They include: Daniel Cohen, Adam B. Ellick, Konrad Fiedler, Raymond Francis, Ricardo Grassi, Nic Lee, Aunohita Mojumdar, Mario Ragazzi, Christoph Reuter, Sujeet Sarkar, Michael Semple, and Reto Stocker. In particular, I would like to thank Sami Kovanen, whose meticulous data collection and research helped me make sense of the war, and Eckart Schiewek, whose wisdom on the country was invaluable.
I wish to thank the many editors and colleagues who aided me over the years, including Ben Arnoldy, Roane Carey, Carol Huang, Dahr Jamail, and Ann Ninan.
This book could not have been written without the generous support of the New America Foundation, where I benefited from a thriving intellectual community of fellow writers and researchers. I am deeply grateful to Peter Bergen, who encouraged me to apply for a fellowship and who commissioned the study on which the central thesis of this book is based. I would also like to thank Steve Coll and Andres Martinez for their support and encouragement.
At Henry Holt, I am indebted to Sara Bershtel for taking a chance on a new author, and Grigory Tovbis, my editor, for his meticulous attention to my manuscript. In his hands, this book was vastly improved. I wish to thank John Wright, my agent, for offering many helpful suggestions during my writing process.
I am grateful to those who aided in the manuscript’s completion, including: Azin Emami, whose expert research provided me with background information on northeastern Afghanistan; Becky Shafer and Kirsten Berg at New America, whose careful and rigorous fact-checking helped me spot numerous errors; Matthew Rubin, whose assistance in fact-checking material on Guantanamo was invaluable; David Pugliese, who generously provided material on the raid on Hajji Burget Khan’s compound; Peter Ter Velde, who helped me understand key battles in Uruzgan province; Martine van Bijlert, for educating me on Khas Uruzgan district; Tom Peter, for giving me a home in Kabul when I visited; and Michael Hastings, a friend and colleague who is sorely missed. I wish to thank Bette Dam, one of the most talented researchers I know, for providing me with much information over the years that aided my work. In particular, she shared transcripts of her meetings with Jan Muhammad, and tracked down a detailed history of Khas Uruzgan district. Her book A Man and a Motorcycle: How Hamid Karzai Became Afghanistan’s President, and Eric Blehm’s The Only Thing Worth Dying For, were valuable sources for Chapter 2, “The Battle of Tirin Kot.”
I have benefited from a small community of writers and thinkers on Afghanistan, whom I am fortunate to also call friends. Graeme Smith’s consistently stellar journalism always gave me something to aspire to. Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn’s work, and my correspondence with them, have taught me much about the Taliban and southern Afghanistan. In particular, I am grateful to Alex for providing me with the source of narration of the Maiwand bus massacre described in chapter 12. Matthieu Aikins is not only one of my most respected peers, he was a pillar of friendship in the long years it took to write this book.
I would like to thank my family, and in particular my parents, who put up with my long absences in far-flung places and never wavered in their encouragement of my work.
Finally, there are two people I wish to thank for their profound influence on this project. The first is Tom Engelhardt, who first suggested that I should write a book and went beyond the call of duty time and again to make the manuscript the best it could be. Any young writer would be lucky to have such an editor and mentor. The second is Anita Sreedhar, one of the best writers I know, who taught me so much about storytelling. Every single page in this book bears her mark.